609 2nd Street, Cedar Key, Florida 32625, United States
Upcoming Events
Thursday, March 2, 2023 Historical Society Annual Membership Dinner/Meeting.
The Cedar Key Historical Society Membership Dinner Meeting is
Thursday, March 2, 2023, will occur at the Community Center.
5:30 pm - As the evening begins, the fantastic Jim and Marci Wilcox will play live music while there is a silent auction, hors d'oeuvres, herbal teas, beer, wine, and an assortment of refreshments.
6:30 pm - Cedar Key favorites are served for dinner.
7:30 pm-8:30 pm - Historical Society Business Meeting
The agenda includes the following:
- Nomination, Vote, and Induction of New Board Members
- Recognition of Outstanding Volunteers and Benefactors
- Update on Preservation Efforts / Museum Building Repairs
- Announcement of Brand-New Discoveries
- 2022 Accomplishments- Discussion of Future Endeavors
- Silent Auction Winners
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MEMBER TO ATTEND!
Members Only Vote! Join Online!
Please RSVP at director@cedarkeyhistory.org or call Anna White Hodges (352)-949-2733
Annual Membership Dinner & Meeting
The Cedar Key Historical Society Membership Dinner Meeting is
Thursday, March 2, 2023, will occur at the Community Center.
5:30 pm - As the evening begins, the fantastic Jim and Marci Wilcox will play live music while there is a silent auction, hors d'oeuvres, herbal teas, beer, wine, and an assortment of refreshments.
6:30 pm - Cedar Key favorites are served for dinner.
7:30 pm-8:30 pm - Historical Society Business Meeting
The agenda includes the following:
- Nomination, Vote, and Induction of New Board Members
- Recognition of Outstanding Volunteers and Benefactors
- Update on Preservation Efforts / Museum Building Repairs
- Announcement of Brand-New Discoveries
- 2022 Accomplishments- Discussion of Future Endeavors
- Silent Auction Winners
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MEMBER TO ATTEND!
Members Only Vote! Join Online!
Please RSVP at Cedarkeyhistory@gmail.com or call Anna White Hodges (352)-949-2733
Unveiling Events- The USS FORT HENRY MUSEUM EXHIBIT
A Brief History - The USS FORT HENRY UNION BLOCKADE SHIP
During the civil war, to slow Confederate supply runs, the Union commissioned a former ferry
boat converted to an effective Union warship for use in its East Gulf Blockading Squadron. The
U.S.S. Fort Henry, “The Terror on Florida’s Gulf Coast.” was named after the Union's and Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant’s February 1862 victory in the Battle of Fort Henry in Tennessee.
Under its first commander, Lt. Edward Yorke McCauley, the U.S.S. Fort Henry’s central patrol
began in April 1863 between the Suwannee River in Dixie County and Anclote Key off of Pasco County.
On July 20, 1863, a USS Fort Henry boat crew ascended the Crystal River in hopes of securing
cotton smugglers upriver.
An ambush by 50-60 Confederate guns killed two of her men. Their bodies were buried on
Seahorse Key, off Cedar Key in Levy County, the next day.
After hostilities ended, her role changed to that of commercial service as she was sold to a New
York ferry company and renamed Huntington. She operated as an East River ferry for two years
before being destroyed by fire in 1868.
The Crystal River Boat Builders crafted a ship replica and donated it to the Cedar Key Historical Society.
Plan a visit and see it for yourself!